Absolutely Ridiculous Adventures - TTC Notes and Quotes

About the Author: Charles Dickens Childhood

Never thought he came from a low class family (he did)
- Parents threw parites and they had luxury items
- Father overspent money- more than they had
In 1824, Charles aged 12, family moved to debtors prison + two servants
- Father said "the sun has set on our house forever, we are ruined"
- Charles and his father always an actor
Charles had to quit school and get a job because he was allowed outside the prison
- caused resentment for parents because he recognized the need for education
Worked in a shoe polish factory, then called a blacking warehouse
- In awful neighborhood and building
  - Worked in standing water which attracted rat infestation- had to wear three layers of socks for rat defence
- Screwed on caps and applied labels for hours and hours
- Thought he would be trapped forever
Had so much passion and vigor to labeling that he became a window showpiece for wealthy men walking by on the street
- They placed bets on his misery- huge humiliation for him
Charles had lots of pride
- When he fainted on the job, refused to admit to friend (Bob Fagan?) that he lived in debtors prison
- Social cast EXTREMELY strong in his head
Embarrassed to be son of debtors
Couldn't love his mother after she suggested he keep working even after grandma's inheritance got the family out of debtor's prison
Considers parents his mental abusers
- Novels loaded with abused children

Charles Dickens: Notes on Other Works

Discovered a torture chamber for children disguised as a school
- Drop off age 3 pick up age 21, if child survived
- Wrote book to raise awareness for such institutions called Nicolas Nicklebee
  - Let to revolt agains the social evil- people found and burned the torture facility
The Old Curiosity Shop features a tortured girl instead of boy- named nell
- Book inspired countless other Nell heroines in the future
- Orphaned from page 1 as usual
- Compulsive gambling grandpa "takes care" of her
- Sold over 100,000 copies in a month and caused first ever NYC traffic Jam
- Readers became extremely attached to Nell, whom he killed in last chapter
He releases book 3 chapters at a time, once a month
- Commercial moneymaking tactic as well as allows books to respond to reader feedback

Date of Publication and Literary Period

Published in weekly sections from April to November of 1869
- Three Chapters per section
Best selling novel in history with 200 million copies
During the Victorian Literary Period, which Dickens is famous for dominating
- Trend of fiction with darker themes rather than fairy tale endings
- Questioned established traditions and institutions
- Science increasingly valued over church
- Social problems were the focus of many writings- writers tried to raise awareness of them

French Revolution Notes
My World History Quizlet

Inspired by enlightenment ideas of libery, natural rights, and democracy
- Outlined in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
- Aimed to topple and rebuild all institutions, (such as the church and government) inspired by Rousseau
- Also inspired by Voltaire and Montesquieu who's words inspired ordinary citizens to believe they were born with naturally-deserved freedoms
- Revolution leaders hoped their declaration would serve as moral outline for the world, not just France
French peasants were starving due to failed harvest
French government was bankrupted by 7 years war and support of american revolution
Nobles seemed unaware and not to care for plight of peasants
Peasants suspected of "treason" against nobles often executed without fair trial
Storming of Bastille marked the start of the revolution; first violent act
France descended into chaos during most of the revolution
National assembly was formed by upper peasants, called bourgeoisie, to defy the estates general and king luois XIV
Jacobins were a radical branch of the revolution lead by Robspierre
Robspierrie took power and executed tens of thousands of nobles in what is known as the Reign of Terror
- Headed by the ironically named Comittee of Public safety
- Anyone who was remotely judged to be a slight opposer to the revolution was beheaded or hung, often without trial
- Even Robspierrie's friend and revolution leader Saint-Just was executed for speaking out against the executions
- Robspierrie himself was executed in the end of the Reign of Terror
Napoleon took power in 1799 ending the chaos and uniting the french people
- Declared all men equal, catering to enlightenment ideas, so the people accepted his dictatorship
- Took over nearly all of Europe (except his arch nemesis Britain), supposedly, to spread revolution morals of equal rights and freedom
- Lost nearly all of his trooops attempting to take over Russia
- When defeated, the governments of Europe installed Luois XVI as monarch of france, people did not like him
- Napoleon came back and fought one last battle- was defeated and exiled for life this time in St. Helena